Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver is set to gain some new attractions this summer, but not everyone’s high on the thrilling developments.
If you missed it, Vancouver Park Board commissioners approved the installation of a 120-metre zipline and a 300-metre tree canopy walkway in the park during a public meeting on Monday, March 9.
According to the initial proposal, the new attractions would be designed, installed, and operated by Vancouver-based Greenheart in partnership with the Nature Agency and Triple Bottom Line. They would have an initial contract term of five years, followed by a renewal option term of five years for a total of 10 years.
Greenheart was also behind a temporary zipline that was featured at Queen Elizabeth Park back in 2015.
“These experiences will not only add to the thrill of visiting the park, but they will also offer new viewpoints for us to enjoy nature,” said Park Board Chair Tom Digby in a release.
While it sounds like an interesting addition, not everyone is stoked about the plan.
One reader said, Queen Elizabeth Park is “made to sit and relax and enjoy nature, not for adrenaline sports.”
Someone else commented, saying, “I don’t think this improves QE Park, looks more like it belongs at the PNE.”
Another reader was concerned about the lack of consultation with the neighbourhood.
“The only neighbourhood the park board consulted is Riley Park and South Cambie Advisory group with 200 members,” they claimed.
Still, many are in support, with one person saying it’s an area of the park that doesn’t see much use.
“At first I was like ‘pls no’ but once I saw where they plan on doing this I really don’t see any issues. Its a rarely used area at the backside of the park. Tree walk sounds nice if they do it well and integrate it nicely,” someone on the Vancouver subreddit said.
Not everyone agreed with that sentiment.
“I’m really confused how you determined this was ‘a rarely used area at the backside of the park.’ It’s right in the center of everything,” another Redditor responded.
“Truly surprised to see the negative comments in here. QE is enormous, with plenty of space that won’t be impacted by this, and the area around bloedel and the gardens is jam packed in the summer. This will be a nice outside activity that will bring enjoyment to a lot of people, and the zip line will only be in use during the summer? I’m a bit confused,” someone else chimed in.
“This is pretty heartbreaking. The serenity of QE is what draws me there. I love visiting when I need to be alone with my thoughts or destress in nature. I’ve felt so lucky to have a park like that so close to me, but now it looks like I’ll have to drive a lot farther to find something similar,” one disappointed Redditor said.
A good way to generate revenue?
The temporary zipline in 2015 saw a decent amount of revenue generation.
Over its 87 days of actual operation (weather permitting days), the zipline saw about 23,600 riders, with 75 per cent coming to Queen Elizabeth Park just for the zipline. The private operator generated a total of $335,000 in revenue, with $45,000 going to the Park Board based on the formula of a Park Board return of 10% for $75,000 to $250,000 of the revenues, 35% for $250,000 to $400,000, and 40% for over $400,000.
We learned last year that the Vancouver Park Board is seeing lots of unsolicited proposals, including new destination attractions. So it’ll be interesting to see what other attractions might find their way to Vancouver Park Board locations.
In any case, we won’t have to wait long to see how the new zipline performs.
With files from Kenneth Chan and Daniel Chai